Pic of the Week

"What's Going On In My Car?"

A Voice of Reason in Suburbia

I found myself fully engulfed in suburbia last night.  After I got home and changed I went out front to play with Gina and the girls.  As I sat down to chalk the sidewalk Gina ran in to get changed for her class and the girls and I continued with our walk way art exhibition. ... which was mostly them asking me to draw cookie monster over and over again.  Shortly there after a lady down the street walked up with her little dog, which the girls loved and which sent Karma in to an apprehensive panic.  Then the neighbor across the street came over with her 3 year old grandson who tried to play dinosaur hunter with our bewildered girls.  Our elderly neighbors then joined the mix with their dog, returning from their nightly evening walk, followed by the pregnant daughter of the neighbor across the street.  It turned in to this swarming mass of bodies and competeing dialogues, oddly reminiscent of a shark feeding frenzy only with pleasant niceties and a distinct lack of fish.  As the trash truck approached where we were standing to get his final pick ups for the day, the conversation grew even louder in an attempt to top the diesel beast.  Suddenly, like a little light in a dark void, a high pitch "thank you' pierced the hubbub.  Everyone stopped and looked down to see Arianna standing there, waving at the trash man and expressing her gratitude for his hard job.  It was a very sweet, genuinely pure moment.  Now, she didn't come to this on her own (I don't want to build it into more than it was) as I usually make them wave and thank the trash man when he goes by.  But none the less it was an unsolicited response from her as I was fully enwrapped in a conversation with the pregnant neighbor about varicose veins and how much they suck (or so I hear).  It made me very proud that in the chaos around her Arianna still remembered that that's what we do.  That's who we are.  We are the people who thank the thankless and appreciate those who do us a service.  God I hope she's able to stay this way for ever.  Minus the incessant nose picking of course.

Clues You Have a Toddler

I apologize for the spotty blogging lately - life has been chaotic at work and, with Gina gone every weekend this past month - it's been pretty chaotic at home too.  It'll get better, I promise, so keep sticking with me.  Today I just wanted to relay a few things that I've come to find are irrefutable proof that you have a toddler at home. ... or two.
1) Every time you sit on the toilet someone rounds to corner and congratulates you; offering an M&M for your successful pee-pee in the toilet.
2) When you do something right you hear "Good dog Daddy." Which is an improvement of sorts over "Good girl Daddy."
3) You can identify your children via their teeth marks.
4) The cat has attempted to run away.
5) You're wine cabinet is empty.
6) The "time out" chair is the most sat in seat in the house.
7) You've run out of excuses as to why cookies can not be had for breakfast.
8) You've watched 20 minutes of Wow Wow Wubbzy before realizing everyone else was in bed and you can change the channel at your leisure.
9) You fantasize about a remake of "The Most Dangerous Game"... starring Elmo.
10) You're in love. ... like you've never been before.

Jersey Girls

When I was a senior in high school I was captain of the boys volleyball team.  Nearly every game that year my cousin (who played volleyball in college) was in attendance with her then 2 year old son.  She would deck him out in "Kyle fan club" gear and I still remember how awesome that made me feel.  So I've been wanting to pass that on for quite some time.  This year I decided I was going to get soccer jerseys for the girls to wear to their Thea (my 11 year old sister-in-law's) soccer games.  It's no easy feat finding soccer jersey's for 2 year olds that aren't for some professional team. ... but I found them.  And today we got our chance to surprise her and rock 'em for the first time.  It gives me joy to know that in 20 years, Ilianna will still have that memory of my girls standing their in teal #7 jerseys, and maybe she'll find a way to pass it on herself.  In life, it's not just important to be the person on the field, it's important to be the person in the stands cheering as well.

Pic of the Week

"'Enevieve'. ... It's short for Genevieve!"

Learning How to "Play"

Yesterday when I got home from work, I was changing into some more comfortable duds when Gina and I noticed Genevieve standing in front of the entertainment system perplexed.  She studied it for a while, then picked up an Elmo DVD that was floating around and started trying to fit it into any space she could find.  The gap under the DISH box - the decorative spacing on the tuner - the unopened door for the blue-ray.  She grasped the concept that the DVD goes in somewhere and that makes Elmo appear. ... she's just not sure where yet.  It's amazing to watch them figure these things out. ... the brain power to learn from observation as opposed to repetitive conditioning.  Makes me think I need to be more careful in what they see me do.

1 Down 8 To Go

The truth is, you don't mourn for an animal like you would a person.  You grieve for a few days, suck it up and you move on.  That's just the way that life goes.  You enter the arraignment fully aware that it's only going to be for a few years, unlike people who have the potential to go 80, 90 even 100 years; dogs and cats are ancient if they make it a decade and a half.  So by Sunday we were doing our best to let Fila go.  That's not to say we didn't double take at night time shadows passing by the window or look around extra diligently when we walked to our cars in the morning.  But, we'd accepted that she was gone.  Then Sunday came.  I brought the girls home from breakfast with my mom and sister and I'd just gotten them into beds for nap time when my phone rang with an unlisted number.  I have a policy that I don't answer unlisted numbers, but for some reason I did.  An older woman on the other line said she had a young cat who had my phone number around her neck. ... I about dropped the phone.  Turns out that the night she'd gone missing she found her way into the backyard of a woman down the street (of course it's right on the one big street that runs through our area).  After the initial encounter the woman didn't see her again until Friday night when she found her in her garage.  The woman had a cat door cut into the side of their garage door and Fila must have sought shelter in there.  The thing I'm wondering about is why the woman waited two days to finally call me?!  I have a  feeling that upon finding such a nice cat she was going to keep her, but Fila's deviated septum and the resulting snort/snoring noise she makes finally drove the woman crazy and she changed her mind.  Either way, I picked her up and as we went outside to walk home she dug her nails into my chest in terror, not unlatching until we got back inside. 5 days in the wild and she's lost all interest in exploring.  Then she slept for 48 hours straight.  She's a little skinny, she's got some cuts on her face and she's got a slight limp in her back leg - but hey, it's a whole lot better then being dead, right?!  When the girls woke up from their nap. ... let's just "excited" doesn't do the emotion justice.  So that's 1 life down, 8 left to go.